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Introduction
The violent 1954 coup that unseated the democratically elected government of Guatemala has long been acknowledged to have been supported by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The coup, which has resulted in over forty years of repression and the killing of over 200,000 Guatemalans, has been an issue surrounded by much controversy and debate. More specifically, such debate has focused primarily on the motivation of the United States and the Central Intelligence Agency is funding and training those responsible for the coup. With the release of previously classified CIA documents, much light has been shed regarding US involvement in the coup. In May of 1997, the CIA declassified 14,000 pages of reports on the 1954 coup it engineered in Guatemala to remove president Jacobo Arbenz from office. ... I will argue that Guatemala became a target of U. ... The days of easily manipulated, authoritarian regimes in Guatemala began to end. ... In doing so, I will present a brief overview of the history of Guatemala as well as explore the events leading up to the coup. Furthermore, I will contend that the intervention in Guatemala provides an often overlooked example of America’s covert tactics in the Cold War.
The Nation in Review
Of the five nations in Central America, Guatemala has both the largest population (11. ...
Guatemala’s Indians to a remarkable degree have retained their indigenous customs and languages. ... This positive political involvement, however, was redirected into resistance through the formation of a guerilla army following the 1954 coup.
In addition to the large Indian population, Guatemala has a very much Hispanicized or Europeanized element present in it’s society. ...
Political Development
Guatemala’s development as a nation has been somewhat turbulent. ... “As early as 1940 Secretary of State Cordell Hull received a strictly confidential departmental memorandum from the United States Ambassador to Guatemala stating that “the President has been so arbitrary, impatient, and grasping in many of his recent acts that a certain amount of resentment has undoubtably been awakened. ... In the early morning hours of October 20, 1944, military commanders Major Francisco Arana and Captain Jacobo Arbenz, led a coup against their superiors at Fort Matamoros. ... Vast agrarian reform threatened the holdings of the Company as mass quantities of land were repatriated to the citizens of Guatemala. ...
Despite the major social and economic reform achieved by Arevalo, “supporters of the traditional order in Guatemala perceived the revolutionary program as tantamount to class welfare.” By Arevalo’s six year term, he had successfully survived over twenty five coup attempts. ... Decree 900, the official name for Arbenz’s program, “intended to overcome the causes of Guatemala’s underdevelopment and to restructure the hierarchal organization of society. ...
Guatemala: The New Communist Threat
The progress of the Arevalo and Arbenz programs were forced to a halt with the CIA-orchestrated invasion by Castillo Armas. President Eisenhower, deep in the haze of the Cold War, believed that communists dominated Guatemala’s government. ... Thus, a new era of Guatemala - U. ...
El Pulpo
Essential in understanding the CIA backed coup is the role the United Fruit Company played in not only Guatemala, but all of Central America. ... The Company soon dominated Guatemala’s banana industry and was afforded many concessions from Manuel Estrada Cabrera, the second of the four caudillos. ...
La Frutera, as it became known in Central America, held a virtual transportation monopoly over Central America and held rights to the only Caribbean Port, Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala. ... The agrarian committee approved more than 400,000 acres of United Fruit’s land, approximately one-seventh of all the arable land in Guatemala, to be repatriated to landless peasants. ... It was decided, according to CIA documents, that “Arbenz was supported by a leftish coalition government, with all key positions below the cabinet level thoroughly controlled by a Communist-dominated bureaucracy. ... ”
In March 1954, U. ... Project PBSUCCESS: Initial Planning, Execution, and Consequences
In response to increased expropriation of UFCO land and the legalization of the Communist Party in Guatemala, the CIA devised a plan entitled Project PBSUCCESS. The stated objective of the plan, as summarized by CIA documents, was to “remove covertly, and without bloodshed if possible, the menace of the Communist controlled government of Guatemala. ... The CIA furnished Armas with mercenaries, weapons, and training camps. This CIA devised Army of Liberation began an intensive psychological offensive in Guatemala. ... This group of citizens were Arbenz’s most powerful supporters, and their cooperation was recognized as a necessity in the success of the coup. ... It is estimated that between 1954 and 1981, more than 60,000 people were murdered under order from the military rule. ... The coup of 1954, while a success by militaristic standards, has been a complete failure for the majority of those living in the country. ... By taking advantage of the Cold War paranoia, the United States persuaded the United Nations and the American people into believing that Guatemala had fallen under Communist influence. Often an overlooked tragedy, the horrific remnants of the 1954 CIA orchestrated coup are still relevant in the lives of the Guatemalan people.
Approximate Word count = 4176
Approximate Pages = 16.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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